In the evening.
There was a rule in the prestigious families to not speak during meals, but the small courtyard was carefree and leisurely. Everyone chatted while eating, sharing what they saw and heard that day.
Jiang Sheng and Zheng Ruqian were the main contributors, with Xu Mo and Chang Yan occasionally responding. Everyone else were loyal listeners.
When the patients from the medical hall today were mentioned, Wen Zhiyun rarely spoke up, "There's something I'm not sure if I should say."
"You've already brought it up, how can you not continue?" Jiang Sheng rested his cheek in his hand, "Fourth brother just likes to leave us in suspense."
"Yes, yes, little fourth has learned bad habits," Zheng Ruqian chimed in.
Wen Zhiyun smiled with pursed lips, "It's like this - that patient not only had diarrhea, but I also found undigested date cakes in his vomit."
Xu Mo, who had just picked up a date cake, froze and silently put the snack back, changing it for vegetables instead.
Theoretically speaking, date cakes were nothing rare. There were three shops selling them at the mouth of Guangming Street. But for a patient appearing near Wen's medical hall, looking particularly miserable, it was worth examining closely.
"What do you guys think, did it feel like someone was following you today?" Chang Yan suddenly spoke up.
Jiang Sheng quickly nodded.
Putting down his bowl and chopsticks, Xu Mo said, "Does little fifth feel like there's something off about that patient?"
It was truly difficult to infer based on only tidbits.
But Chang Yan just felt something was wrong. "Even if the date cake he ate wasn't from Jiuzhen Store, as long as he collapsed in front of Jiuzhen Store and blamed it on Jiuzhen Store, it would still be a stain that can't be washed away."
"But he was found in an alley," Zheng Ruqian pointed out.
That was the key link that couldn't be connected. Someone trying to frame Jiuzhen Store wouldn't be able pass out in an alley.
Unless he had wrongly estimated when the laxative would take effect, or got held up in some way.
This gave rise to a good question, though.
"If someone really uses such a despicable method to frame Jiuzhen Store, has second brother thought of how to deal with it?" Chang Yan asked earnestly, turning his head.
Zheng Ruqian's mind went blank instantly.
This was even more vicious than poisoning, tampering with ingredients, or even rumors.
Covered in feces and urine, even if it was proven to have nothing to do with Jiuzhen Store, it would still be enough to drive away most customers.
The snacks in the store would also be affected, making it difficult for new customers to visit.
"Too cruel, too disgusting," Xu Mo commented. "But very effective."
Anything related to food could be precisely targeted with disgust.
Zheng Ruqian's face was ashen. "Just because of the lychees, even Jiuzhen Store has to suffer schemes."
If it meant giving up the lychee business for Jiuzhen Store though, he would never agree no matter what was said.
"Isn't there a way to have the best of both worlds? Does being in the food business mean watching others unjustly criticize with eyes wide open?" Jiang Sheng lamented.
Chang Yan was silent for a moment. "There are ways, it's just..."
Just a little indecent.
After some whispers between the siblings, they finally discussed a plan.
Zhang Xianglian brought over bowls of hot soup. Jiang Sheng hugged his bowl and sipped lightly. "Has eldest brother run into any trouble at Guozijian recently?"
Compared to the Fang family, the Liao family was just a little dirtier.
What was truly chilling was still the Fang family.
"Probably...not?" Xu Mo hesitated briefly. "Still rather peaceful."
Only then did everyone relax.
The next day.
A printed notice personally written by Xu Mo hung at the entrance of Jiuzhen Store. In black characters on white paper, it read: "As malicious competitors have vilified this store, afraid it may lead to incidents, all snacks discounted by ten percent."
These earthshattering words would be explosive anywhere they were posted.
Competition in the industry was intense, and malicious competition existed, but most were tit-for-tat in secret. No one had ever seen something announced so openly.
The commoners of Fengjing were curious, and some came for the discount. Business at Jiuzhen Store didn't decline, but became even more crowded instead.
Zheng Ruqian watched on happily outside with Jiang Sheng. "As expected of little fifth. This move is truly ingenious!"
Publicly announcing that the store was being eyed was itself deterrence. If anything happened, it would be "malicious competitors vilifying us." The commoners would not resent Jiuzhen Store, but instead sympathize.
It was brilliant, brilliant!
As for the ten percent discount, it was Zheng Er's idea. He believed that since they posted a notice, they had to genuinely offer the people a deal, while also preventing a potential backlash - such as people falsely accusing Jiuzhen Store to stir up trouble.
Jiang Sheng deeply agreed.
In the time that followed, whether due to a warning from the Jiang family taking effect, or the notice being too intimidating, the Liao family did not make a move.
Time slipped from May to June. The second batch of Lingnan lychees was due to arrive.
Many prestigious families had come to place pre-orders during this period - thirty catties for the Yao family, naturally, and the Qi, Zhao, and He families had orders too. If not for the third batch coming right after, Jiuzhen Store wouldn't have dared to accept them all.
And precisely because of this, Zheng Er was on high alert. Whenever he had time, he would go to the official road to see if the lychee carriages had arrived.
"You don't think the Liaos would intercept my lychees midway, do you?" Growing impatient from waiting too long, he began to feel anxious.
Chang Yan put down his carving knife and blew away some wood shavings. "If second brother is worried, why not go meet them halfway with Jiang Third and Jiang Fourth?"
The road from Lingnan to Fengjing was the official road with no shortage of travelers. Even if the Liaos really made a move, they might not be able to accurately find Jiuzhen Store's lychee carriage among the crowds.
But just pacing around at home was no use to Zheng Ruqian. It'd be better to find Wang Xiaosong and the others sooner to fully put his mind at ease.
"Alright." Zheng Er hardly hesitated when it came to little fifth brother's suggestion.
He tidied up with Jiang Three and Four, and even brought Jiang Sheng along as the siblings set off towards Lingnan.
Nearly half a day later, the carriage gradually left the borders of Fengjing and bordered Sichuan. There were visibly fewer carriages on the road now, and most pedestrians wore colorful, eye-catching clothing with distinct features. Jiang Sheng watched curiously with wide eyes but didn't dare speak.
Because Zheng Ruqian was nearly mad. "It's been nineteen days since they set off, and we travelled half a day more. It should be around this area. How have we still not seen anyone?"
As sunset approached and visibility lowered, if he didn't find Wang Xiaosong and the others soon, he'd have to turn back to avoid missing each other.
Fortunately, Jiang Sheng had sharp eyes and pointed ahead. "Isn't that person over there Wang Xiaosong?"
Zheng Ruqian's heart sank. He whipped the horses forward and stopped some distance away. After rushing over in a few steps, the figure standing there stunned was none other than Wang Xiaosong.
"Xiaosong!" Zheng Ruqian said resentfully, gritting his teeth, "The lychees - where are the lychees?"
